Thursday, October 16, 2008

I am still working on a name for this video recipe as the title sounds a little too desserty. If you have any ideas, feel free to comment. I usually like to include the main ingredients in the name, but maybe in this case I should have just gone with "JJ's Magic Meatloaf," or "Mitz-a-loaf."

I had some leftover buttermilk in the fridge and I wondered what would happen if used it to replaced the milk in my meatloaf recipe. I know you've read my various posts on buttermilk's delicious, tenderizing effects on meat, so at least my idea had some proven food science behind it. So, I decided to go for it, and was very happy with the results.

This meatloaf recipe is very flavorful, and as the proverbial description goes, "melts in your mouth." As far as vegetables, I only used onions, but their sweetness, along with the simple brown sugar glaze were a great counterpoint to the others flavors.

Even if you don't use this exact recipe, you should try your own famous meatloaf recipe with buttermilk. Its effects were subtle, but noticeable. Enjoy!

Dear Chef,Thank you for this amazing recipe. I was looking for something to replace the dry bland meatloaf my chef has been serving. This is now a staff favorite. I wanted to ask what kind of storage time / reheating instructions for this meatloaf.

I just copied your meatloaf recipe into my "recipe bible". I'm calling it "Chef John's Buttermilk Meatloaf". It's a no-brainer. If a recipe starts with "Chef John" I know it's a great one. If I add "buttermilk" into the name, I'll realize that I need to get some before starting the recipe. I don't care much for Meatloaf (the singer)- my father used to play Paradise by the Dashboard Light over and over on family car trips when I was 14. Awkward! 31 years later I'm still not over it...

I made this recipe yesterday. The inside was really nice, but I did not like the glaze - it was just too sweet for my taste (I used the exact measurements). Next time I will use less sugar and a bit more vinegar (it seems that your "splash" of vinegar is a bit more than a teaspoon. Regards from Ljubljana!

Im a student at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada. I was browsing your blog after I found your chicken wing recipe for superbowl (which was Fantastic by the way). Im about to undertake this Meat Loaf and cannot wait to see how it turns out. Thanks a ton for all these phenomenal recipes, the ladies have been thoroughly impressed with my (yours) cooking abilities :). Ill repost and let ya know how it ends up!! Thanks again!

All I can say is wow. My friend and I just finished dinner, and it was fantastic. The sweet glaze really kicked off the flavors and seasoning in the meats and the slow cook made it really tender. My only Question is how to make it keep its shape better? I know probably just to keep forming it as ur putting it on the pan but do you have any other suggestions?? Cheers!!!

This is an awesome recipe, and I scored major brownie points with my family for cooking this. I suggest adding diced red capsicums and fried lean bacon bits to the meat along with the onions. The complementing flavours are really good :)

I have NEVER been able to make a decent meatloaf and I've tried many times. But then I tried Chef John's savory buttermilk version and it was truly incredible! DELICIOUS. meatloaf at its best. Thanks Chef John for sharing this recipe. Chris

This might be your best video ever, I love the way you incorporated good ol' meatloaf songs! However, about the healthy part, it's not actually all that bad, unless you eat the greasy stuff left on the silicone mat, I mean, a lot of the fat just melts out, right?

Meatloaf is inexpensive to, but I shyed away from it because it's "yucky" when I make it according to my children, husband, and even me.I had to sub and leave out some of the sexier ingredients that I didn't have in the house and it was still delicious. No left overs for the dogs this time!Thank you, chef John!

I know this is old, so I doubt anyone will even see this, but being British, I have to ask, what is wrong with you lot? Why do you pronounce Worcestershire sauce so oddly? It is read as "Wuss-ter" sauce. That is it. Maybe it is a long running gag no one but you guys understands, but no one pronounces shire other than the North Americans.

Matt--we just try to say it like it looks!! I have never been sure how in heck one is actually supposed to say it, but the way Chef John says it in the video would be about how I do say it. If we just called it "Wuss-ter" sauce, noone here would have any idea what we meant, most likely ;)

Chef!! I dunno if you read comments on posts this old, but I wanted to thank you ever so much again for doing what you do. I would not be nearly so brave in the kitchen if it were not for you and your videos!! Please do them forever! ;)

Another great recipe. I do have another story about my wife however :^). As I was cooking down the onions (she hates onions)she had this look of disdain on her face. I ignored it (safe thing to do) and continued making the meatloaf. I served it with your warm brussel sprout salad with the bacon dressing. So as we are about to dig in, she says "Well this will be a first...I HATE meatloaf." I say "Wait, what? You've made us meatloaf before." My daughter pipes up and says "Yeah but she never eats it...she has a salad those nights." So anyways I wait for her to turn her nose up and poo poo all my hard work. She takes a bite and says "Hmmm...this is pretty good." She then explains how most meatloaf tastes like a big hamburger that people smother with ketchup. She was thoroughly impressed...so much so that she took leftovers to work for lunch the next day! Another great job Chef John!